The Fire In His Eyes
by Gyotso
Summary: When Nick returns to Briarwood after eleven long months, he's got one thing on his mind... well, one certain person. But what if those eleven months changed her? What if she didn't feel the same way anymore? It'd been a long time. Rated M to cover bases, but it's no lemon. Sorry! Maybe some other time Note: story name was chosen after writing was finalized, so it's not that cheesy


_Two years ago an ancient dark being known only as "the Master" attacked the city of Briarwood, forcing the white sorceress Udonna to select five teenagers to utilize the powers of the Mystic Force, and become Power Rangers._

 _After a year of battling the Master's forces, Xander, Vida, Chip, Madison, and Nick led the final battle against the Master with the aid of their fellow rangers Udonna, Daggeron, and Leanbow._

 _After a brief celebration Nick and his parents, Leanbow and Udonna, left Briarwood to talk to his adoptive parents..._

 _That was eleven months ago..._

Nick was riding alone on the way into Briarwood.

It had been a long year without his friends around. His adoptive parents had been moving around a lot overseas so it took a while to track them down, but he didn't mind all that much. Udonna and Leanbow left their son in the Atlantic after a distress call was received from the Snow Prince. Nick wanted to go with, but Leanbow ordered him to stay behind. It was nice to spend the small time he had with his birth-parents, and seeing the other side of the Atlantic.

But he missed his friends, Clare and Daggeron... and of course the other rangers, Xander, Vida, Chip and Maddie...

But he missed Maddie the most.

Before he left, the shy and beautiful blue Mystic Ranger had finally opened up and revealed (at least to a degree) that she had feelings for him and wanted him to come back to Briarwood.

He'd received mixed messages from Maddie all year they'd been battling the freaks from the Master's army. As a result, he never made a move. But he did leave his baby blanket with her, the one remnant he had from his baby days, having been born in the mystical world and raised in the human realm.

He hoped that when she gave it back they would be able to start some kind of a relationship. But he'd been gone a long time, a lot could have changed in eleven months.

He pulled up to a broken down bus and parked his motorcycle.

"You guys got a problem?" Nick asked, walking up to the group of people surrounding the bus.

"Unless you know how to fix a hole in the engine." The bus driver told him, "We're waiting on a tow and another bus."

"Let me take a look." Nick said, going to the front of the bus where no one was standing near.

"Be my guest." The driver stated, "The whole thing rusted through."

"What rust?" Nick asked innocently.

The bus driver hustled over and saw that the engine was spic and span, brand new and without a hole.

"What did you do?" The bus driver asked, having heard rumors about strange things happening around these parts.

"I didn't do anything. I think you just let the long hours mess with your head." Nick said, patting the driver on the shoulder. "Drive carefully, and get these people home safely."

"Hey thanks."

"Like I said, I didn't do anything." Nick said, starting up his bike and driving away, content with himself and his magical progress.

Nick sped towards the Rock Porium, figuring that Maddie was more likely to be there than at the old Mystic Force base... Root Core.

He opened the glass door to his old job and felt like he'd been there yesterday. Everything was the way he remembered it... well, except the small variety of magical creatures that now worked here.

Xander was sitting in his chair "supervising". Vida was at the table with Matoombo, spinning a few sick beats. Chip was dancing around, reenacting a battle he'd probably exaggerated to a bunch of girls. And then his eyes fell on her...

For a second, time stopped. Potentially literally, since he couldn't move.

But as the clocks ticked on, he walked towards her, his heart beating in his chest.

She was sorting through a few different records and albums, probably organizing them alphabetically, numerically, and by quality simultaneously.

Xander saw Nick first, getting up and looking from Maddi to him.

Nick nodded and then noticed that Vida had seen him too.

"Hey Maddie?" Vida said, catching the attention of her sister.

"Yeah sis?" She replied, not letting her eyes off of the records she was sorting lest she'd lose track of all the things she was doing in her head.

"Um... there's a customer. It looks like he's a real helpless case."

Nick gave her a look and laughed quietly.

"No customer is a helpless case." Chip argued, jumping onto the stage. Then the former yellow Mystic ranger noticed his old leader by Toby's office. "Except that one, Maddie he's all yours."

"Come on, can't Xander or Phineas or Toby handle it? I'm really trying to get this done."

"No way." Xander replied, "He looks like a real headcase."

"Come on you guys..." Maddie said, getting up frustrated. "He's not a... Nick." Her eyes fell on him and she looked at him like she was seeing him for the first time again.

"Hey..." was all Nick could think of.

"I'm gonna take a break." Maddie decided, snapping her fingers so that the music would sort itself.

"Take as long as you need. Chip doesn't mind not having a break." Xander told her, patting Chip on the back.

"Wait what?" Chip asked, but Nick and Maddie didn't hear him.

"So how long have you been back?" Maddie asked, walking alongside Nick up the street to a small coffee shop.

"To Briarwood? Not long, less than an hour. I was gonna go see my sister but I decided to come and stop by."

"For this?" Maddie asked, pulling the perfectly folded red and gold blanket from her backpack.

"Did you take it everywhere with you?" Nick asked, holding it for the first time in almost a year.

"I mean... not everywhere... like... I left it when I was, you know, taking a shower... but I still uh... brought in the bathroom. You know what, you didn't need to know that." Maddie chuckled nervously.

"Certainly paints a pretty picture though." Nick said smoothly.

Maddie blushed, "How long are you staying?"

Nick shrugged.

"I thought you were coming back for good... for... um."

Nick gave her a look, "Maybe you should remind me what I was coming back for?"

"I thought you were coming back for someone... someone special. Unless of course you met someone, while you were gone." Maddie froze for a second and thought about it, then her rate of speech sped up, "Which would make total sense, because you're you... and you know what, it's silly. Of course you met someone, that's why you're not staying. You just wanted to tell me in person... I get it. Thank you for letting me know..."

"You really think I'd meet someone on the other side of the Atlantic while I spent everyday hoping I'd get to see you again?"

"Um... trick question?" She offered, trying to get her head on straight. "Did... did you just say...?"

"Look Maddie, I've been missing you since I left. And I know I never told you, but I'm crazy about you. I just..."

Maddie surprised him by kissing him without warning, without hesitation. Totally out of character.

Maddie broke the kiss and took a deep breath with her mouth and eyes wide open, "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't... I just..."

Nick put his hand behind her head and pulled her in for another kiss.

"I guess you're not the same shy girl you were when I met you."

Maddie smiled, pressing her forehead to his. "I had some help."

Nick smiled back, lacing his fingers in hers.

A tingle down his spine warned him that someone was nearby and watching.

Nick spun around and pulled his wand out quickly, before Maddie even had a chance to react.

"Woah woah woah!" Chip's voice exclaimed.

"Chip?" Maddie asked.

Chip's invisibility spell broke, revealing Chip, Xander, and Vida.

"You guys were watching the whole time?" Nick asked.

"Had to make sure you didn't do my sister wrong." Vida said, glaring accusingly at Nick in a half-joking way.

"You were supposed to keep quiet." Xander told Chip.

"I don't want to get turned into a shrub by the Light." Chip pointed out, "He was ready to curse us all."

"Some people, Chip, are capable of defending themselves." Xander countered, waving his own cell phone/wand.

"Speaking of magic, since when can you sense invisibility spells?" Vida asked.

"Udonna's been teaching me while we were overseas. It actually kind of sucks because I feel like there's some dark power lurking over my shoulder all day and night." Nick explained.

Vida nodded, "Sounds cool... so you guys are...?"

Nick and Maddie looked at each other, and held each other's hands.

"We are." Maddie confessed, "But that doesn't make you off the hook."

"What hook?" Xander asked.

Maddie waved her free hand and turned the former green, yellow, and pink rangers into small kelp in three fish bowls.

"Now that is much better than turning you into shrubs." Nick pointed out, poking the glass on each bowl.

"This is soooooo not cooool." Xander's voice was distorted to a degree, but he still could be understood.

"I'm goooonnnna killll yooooou." Vida said.

"I'm a fish!" Chip exclaimed, speeding around the bowl like it was the coolest thing since the Ice Age.

"Do you wanna go for a walk?" Maddie asked.

"I'd love too." Nick replied, lacing his elbow with Maddie's and walking up the road with her.

"They're not really gonna leeeeave us like this?" Xander asked.

"I think they are..." Vida admitted.

"This is like, the coolest thing ever."

"Shut up Chip." Vida and Xander said together.

The spell undid itself when a young boy tried to pick up Chip's bowl and ended up getting crushed by an eighteen year old man-child.

"Glad that's over." Vida said, brushing herself off.

"I'm never having seafood again." Xander declared, walking back to the Rock Porium.

Nick and Maddie were later found wandering the forest in which they found their destinies... and, inevitably, were brought together.

"So you never answered my question." Maddie stated simply.

"Which one?"

"How long are you staying?"

Nick thought about it, "As long as I can."

Maddie nodded like the answer satisfied her, they turned to face each other briefly as the sun began to set down on them. She could see a fire in his eyes, ignited by his love for her.

"I love you Maddie."

"I love you Ni... Bowen. I love you Bowen." Maddie replied, kissing him again and feeling their energies merge for a short while.

* * *

 **Just a One-Shot of Nick/Maddie. No lemon, just the one mention of Maddie in the shower. I want to make a fanfiction of Mystic Force reborn, but haven't really figured out what form it will take. Maybe I'll use this as my starting point and branch out.**

 **Regardless, this is one of my Power Ranger pairings that have never graced the big screen (and by big screen, I mean my keyboard) in any of my stories. So, it felt right to do something for them. I actually started this before my Jimberly Story "The Guy From the Letter" but didn't finish it until several hours after I published the MMPR one. I'm hoping to do a couple more one-shots with my favorite couples, but life does have a habit of getting in the way, does it not?**

 **Anyway, review, follow, favorite... or leave because it's not what you were hoping for. I sincerely hope you enjoyed my story, and hope that you will read my others.**


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